Margaret Thatcher dies at 87

Source :

Last Updated: Mon, Apr 08, 2013 18:36 hrs

London, Apr 8 (IBNS) Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who is also known as the iron lady of world politics for his approach to domestic and international issues during her political career, died at age 87 on Monday.

Thatcher, who died of stroke, was the longest-serving (1979-1990) Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and the only woman ever to have held the post.

"It is with great sadness that Mark and Carol Thatcher announced that their mother Baroness Thatcher died peacefully following a stroke this morning," Lord Tim Bell said.

Britain´s Queen Elizabeth II also immediately mourned her death.

A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: "The Queen was sad to hear the news of the death of Baroness Thatcher. Her Majesty will be sending a private message of sympathy to the family."

David Cameron, the current prime minister, said: "It was with great sadness that l learned of Lady Thatcher´s death. We´ve lost a great leader, a great prime minister and a great Briton."

As Prime Minister, she implemented Conservative policies that have come to be known as Thatcherism.

Since 2002, Thatcher was not seen in public life. She had suffered a stroke then.

She was hospitalized in December 2012 with some ailments. A growth from her bladder was removed then.

Thatcher was a leader of the Conservative Party and came to be known as an unbending leader capable of taking tough decisions, including on privatisation of national industries.

Margaret Thatcher´s husband Sir Denis Thatcher died in June 2003.

She had paid tribute to him in The Downing Street Years, writing "Being Prime Minister is a lonely job. In a sense, it ought to be: you cannot lead from the crowd. But with Denis there I was never alone. What a man. What a husband. What a friend."